Hamartia (Fatal Flaw)
by PercAquaman
Summary: Following the death of Jason Grace, Thalia embarks on a mad quest to bring her little brother back to life. Percy, Annabeth, and Grover must team up to stop the desperate daughter of Zeus from violating the natural law and erasing death.
1. Chapter 1

**All rights to Percy Jackson and related characters belong to Rick Riordan and company. I'm just playing around in his sandbox of characters. Thank you so much for taking time to read my story; feel free to give feedback, read at your own leisure, or message me directly with suggestions. You all are amazing. I hope that your day is going great and that you stay hydrated :)**

 **Thalia**

Thalia stood towards the back of the group, in a black shirt tucked into dress pants and dress shoes. She wore a peacoat over it and held a black umbrella over her head to protect herself from the rain. She figured the precipitation may be symptoms of her father's annoyance.

However, she may be wrong.

The rain may have been her doing.

The back of the congregation was just as somber as the people closer to the coffin. Everyone was either crying profusely, fervently praying to the gods, or regarding the ground in silence. Thalia couldn't believe that her brother not only knew so many people, but had this strong of an effect on them.

These people were not mourning the death of a teenager, but the passing of a _leader._ It was initially hard for Thalia to see the boy who tried to eat a stapler as the praetor of Camp Jupiter, but after seeing him lead a team, after seeing him fight, and after seeing him in general…it was easy to see him as a hero.

Jason was dead.

Everyone in the crowd held an umbrella, making it look like one black tent protecting everyone from Zeus. Though it was raining, a piece of the sun peeked out from behind the clouds as if Zeus himself was watching the funeral rites.

 _As if,_ Thalia thought to herself. Zeus' many children had become a staple of his character, and he is no stranger to gruesome deaths. She figured that he was not shedding any tears for another one of his children meeting their end.

Somehow, the sun being out made the event a lot darker.

Though it was a high-emotion event, Reyna, the praetor of Camp Jupiter, had taken the cake. Her anguish and mourning was well hidden by a mask of pure determination and leadership. It was so well-hidden, in fact, that it made it hard for Thalia to turn away. It was like watching a reflection of herself.

Reyna would have made a good Hunter, and perhaps a better lieutenant than Thalia was. She'd never admit that out loud, though.

Thalia always liked Reyna, and she wasn't surprised when Jason had revealed her interest in him. Though Thalia was initially excited, the excitement had gone away when he chose Piper.

When Annabeth told her that Reyna expressed interest in Percy as well, Thalia realized that Reyna was attracted to the noble, semi-charismatic hero who will forever be unavailable and unattainable.

Thalia thought that sounded familiar.

Thalia watched Reyna as she and other Camp Jupiter demigod leaders carried Jason's coffin to the Garden of Bacchus, where the funeral processions were set to start. Though the other people carrying Jason's coffin seemed to be grieving for a hero lost, Thalia could tell that Reyna was grieving the loss of multiple things: a close friend, a comrade, a partner, a leader, and an inspiration.

Jason was dead.

The Garden of Bacchus was located at the top of a huge hill that overlooked the entire city. Though the hill was usually adorned with grapevines, it seemed that the Roman god of wine and madness had gone all out for this event. The grass was covered in flowers that glowed either a luminescent violet or a relaxing pink. They moved and swayed as if they were alive and communicating with one another (or swaying to a song together). Tiny bees flew around the area, but had just enough respect to avoid stinging anyone. Several other animals had gathered there for the beginning of the funeral, prompting Thalia to wonder about their relationship to her brother. The canopy overhead was covered in plants and vegetation that alternated between a bright green and a strong red. The light rain seemed to infuse the plant life with a familiar divinity, as if Apollo was playing his lyre.

As customary in Ancient Rome, the first procession within a funeral was the performance. There were professional mimes and musicians in the garden. The musicians played a combination of upbeat and gloomy songs, accompanied by rhythmic movements by the mimes. Both parties were playing as if they were simultaneously celebrating Jason's life and mourning his death.

Thalia noted to herself that these figures were only here because Jason was such a popular and high-class figure within Camp Jupiter. She knew that if he was treated according to the social class that the two of them grew up in, there would only be a few flutists playing at a low caliber of quality for a couple of minutes. However, this band of musicians was full of professionals. They had just transitioned to playing an ancient Greek melody that Thalia vaguely recognized as one of the countless odes to Zeus.

She found her mind wandering to the first time she had seen him as a young man.

 _Thalia was crouching in a grove of bushes. She was positioned like she was taking a knee, but her weight was on her thighs and calves as opposed to her knee. She was squatting and consciously making sure that every iota of her body was silent. Their target's senses were supernatural and on par with the most formidable monster._

 _Thalia slowly looked at her group of Hunters. The ten Hunters all wore white-and-gray winter camouflage and held their bows confidently. They were all staring at her, ready for the next order. Even the hunting wolves looked to Thalia for the next move. In unison, they all nodded to her confidently._

 _Thalia looked back at Lycaon. He was making his way towards a nearby cave. He was a tall creature, covered with dirty, dark brown hair. He wore a crown of bones on his head, probably to feed his own ego._

 _Luckily for the Hunters, he wore a robe._

 _Unluckily for others, the robe was made of several furs of other animals. He wore it like a hunter would wear a hide; with pride and strength._

 _He was skinnier than she thought he'd be, but he looked quick and deadly._

 _Everything a wolf should be._

 _His sinister red eyes were bright against his very pale skin and dark fur. He smiled and spoke with a low voice. Thalia used her enhanced senses to focus in on his words._

" _I can smell your fear. A few more minutes of life, heroes. Pray to whatever gods you wish. Zeus did not grant me mercy, and you will have none from me."_

 _Thalia craned her neck to see who his audience was, but she could only make out three vague forms. The forms looked human, but smelled like demigods. She didn't know who they were, but she knew that if the Hunters did their job, Lycaon was not going to kill anyone else for a long, long time._

 _She noticed that Lycaon was not alone. A large pack of wolves were stalking towards the three figures in the cave. They didn't have much time left before the three demigods were attacked from all sides._

 _With all eyes on her, she put up two fingers as if she was making a finger gun whose barrel was pointed towards the sky. Quickly and silently, her Hunters notched arrows and brought their strings back and preparation. Artemis' wolves shifted their weight on their back foot, ready to charge in. Like a band conductor, Thalia looked around to make sure that everyone was on the same page. She then focused her attention on Lycaon and quickly brought the finger fun down so that she was now pointing at the king of the wolves. Though it may have been a trivial gesture to any onlookers, the movement had significant meaning to her squad._

 _It was the indication to fire to kill._

 _In unison, a volley of glowing silver arrows sliced through the wind and ripped through the wolves around the area with frightening accuracy. The demigods jumped in surprise._

 _Thalia, eager to get in on the action, brandished her bow, notched an arrow, and blessed it with Artemis' sacred flame. The tip of the arrowhead produced a bright blue flame around it. For support, the daughter of Zeus notched another arrow._

 _On a three-count, she let them fly._

 _The support arrow flew towards his shoulder as the sacred arrow whistled towards his neck. To Thalia's surprise, though, Lycaon caught the sacred arrow in mid-air, before it punctured him._

 _Thalia admitted to herself that he was quicker than she thought._

 _The arrow, however, burned his hand and forced him to drop it. The arrow fell to the cave ground with a piercing clang._

 _While he was preoccupied with the pain of the sacred flame of Artemis, the support arrow hit him in the shoulder, forcing him back a few steps. Lycaon let loose a few curses and with a growl, disappeared into the night with his pack._

 _Thalia straightened up out of the bushes, thoroughly disappointed by their quick retreat. Before she could complain, one of Artemis' wolves bounded off towards the demigods in the cave. Thalia wore professional resolve once more and watched the canine run away. In response, two other wolves hustled towards the cave as well. The Hunters looked at Thalia questioningly. She gave them a curt nod that beckoned towards the cave._

 _The group then ran to the cave to retrieve the wolves. Once they got there, the group parted so Thalia could walk towards the small orange fire burning near the demigods' feet. Her silver arrow was lying there, with glowing Greek inscriptions etched into it by divine powers. She wondered what would ever happen if a mortal got a hold of one of those arrows. Thalia knelt, picked up her arrow, and put it in her quiver._

" _So close," she muttered to herself. At Artemis' behest, they had been trying to catch Lycaon for weeks. That was the best chance that they would get in months, and though Lycaon was injured, she wasn't sure if the wise choice would be to continue the pursuit._

 _But it was worth a try._

 _She turned to the group; the brave, beautiful, and lithe handmaidens of Artemis. "Phoebe, stay with me. Watch the entrance. The rest of you, follow Lycaon. We can't lose him now. I'll catch up with you."_

 _Thalia sensed ripples of excitement and agreement spread through the group as they dispersed to follow the king of the wolves. She smelled fear, though, likely coming from the demigods._

 _She stood and regarded the group from under her hood. One looked to be of Native American descent, with a beauty that reminded her of a certain goddess of love. The other looked to be closer to a Latinx background, sporting curly black hair and impish features that screamed mischief. The last one, however, looked fantastically familiar. He was blonde with powerful blue eyes that made Thalia think of her mother. It threw her off for a few seconds, so much so that when the female demigod spoke, it made her tense up._

" _You're her. You're Thalia."_

 _Thalia saw the looks they were giving her. The girl was looking at her with apprehension. The way she stood indicated a level of protectiveness and possession over the blonde guy, whose body language in turn reflected discomfort and confusion towards her._

 _Thalia was glad she gave up romance. It was too complicated for her._

 _The curly-haired guy was looking at her up and down with admiration, reminding Thalia all too well of her mother's weird, old producer/director friends that would ogle Thalia when she would walk around the house._

 _The blonde guy was staring at her with anticipation._

 _With a little trouble, she tore her eyes away from him and to the young woman who spoke to her. The demigod's declaration of Thalia's name seemed less of a question than a statement. To add a level of humanity and relatability to the interaction, Thalia removed her hood._

 _She locked eyes with the female. A microcosm of fear splashed over her face, only to be subsequently replaced by a face of recognition, followed by apprehension. She struck Thalia as someone who was good with words and knew as much._

 _Thalia asked her, "Do I know you?"_

 _The demigod took a second to answer. "This might be a shock, but-"_

 _Thalia noticed the blonde demigod tense and step towards her, prompting all of Thalia's attention to be focused towards him. Images of her mother and picnics (for some reason) flashed through her mind as she regarded him._

" _Thalia. I'm Jason, your brother."_

 _Her world flipped upside down, inside out, and back again._

 _Jason was alive._

Jason was dead.

Thalia was ripped out of her thoughts when a few satyrs roughly pushed past her. She looked at their retreating figures and saw that they were trying to catch up to the group. In the distance, Thalia could see that Reyna was leading the group to the Field of Mars _._

They were probably headed there for the second stage in a Roman funeral.

The cremation.

The crowd filed into Camp Jupiter's battlefield until they got to the very center of it. The ground opened up to reveal metal steps to an underground room, allowing the group of people to move into Camp Jupiter's small necropolis. The room had red-orange walls with several Latin words all over the wall. The words pulsed golden, like they were being lit by a living energy. In the very center of the room was a funeral pyre that seemed to be made of either very metallic concrete or very rocky metal.

A few minutes later, the small room was bustling with uncomfortably hot attendees. Thalia watched wordlessly as Jason's body was taken out of the coffin and placed on a funeral pyre. His body was wrapped in regal purple robes, like some of the most beloved Roman emperors. Frank passed Reyna a torch with violet fire burning in it. The praetor said a silent prayer and lit Jason's body. The musicians all sang shrill, somber notes that sounded like all sharps. Jason's body caught on fire and Thalia felt some people look away.

She didn't.

She watched as Jason's body caught on purple fire, and then watched as the fire spread to his entire body. As it spread, it turned different colors, from red to orange, from orange to yellow, from yellow to green, from green to blue, and from blue to purple. By the time the fire had turned purple again, Jason's body was nothing but ashes.

Jason was dead.

Nico Di Angelo, dressed in black robes, stepped forward. He used an iron tool that looked like a kitchen knife to scrape the ashes into a funerary urn. He handed the urn off to Reyna, who slowly made her way to the back of the group. Thalia had to slide to the side and keep her head down to avoid getting noticed. As Reyna passed, Thalia saw no tears, but she did see raw red eyes that said more than tears ever could. The crowd followed her outside through the Field of Mars and to Temple Hill. There was a podium set up, with a picture of Jason and several flowers surrounding it. Reyna and Frank stood at the podium and cleared their throats. Frank was not shy about his tears; they flowed down his face like they were racing one another to see who could get to his chin first.

Most of the audience's heads were bowed to the ground, and Thalia recognized the heads of Percy, Annabeth, Grover, Hazel, Frank, and Leo interspersed through the crowd.

The rain intensified as Reyna held her arms up. "We have reached the eulogy portion of the funeral. Due to Jason's position of a praetor within Camp Jupiter, it is tradition for any living family to offer a eulogy. Is there anyone here who is of Jason's blood who would like to give a eulogy."

In the midst of hushed whispers and crowd muttering, Thalia was certain of one thing though; they were all trying to find _her._

The praetor's famed sister: the immortal, divine head Hunter of Artemis.

According to Percy, Thalia was more of an urban myth than an actual warrior. The idea of the leader of Camp Jupiter having such an ethereal sister was an interesting topic to talk about and something that further immortalized Jason as a regal, mysterious praetor.

Jason was dead.

As people began to turn towards the back, Thalia turned slowly and walked away from Temple Hill. The rain intensified and began to blow sideways, littering her face with enough rainwater to wash away her tears. Lightning flashed in the distance as she focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

She continued to put one foot in front of the other until she finally got to the edge of the Camp grounds. By the road, there were two figures leaning against a black car. As Thalia approached the vehicle, she folded the umbrella closed, wrapped it up, and put it in her coat pocket. The closer Thalia got to the car, the more she was transfixed by it. The car seemed to be a futuristic BMW, a model so expensive that it seemed like the rain was only falling to wash any dirt and/or blemishes from the car. The windows had a fluorescent blue/yellow electric glow to it, as if there was lightning itself riding in the vehicle. The energy pulsed as if it was alive and trying to reach out to Thalia.

Leaning against the car was two tall, slender women wearing black jackets. They looked like they came from a Mediterranean background. One of them looked to be more feminine. She wore a long, expensive black coat that reminded Thalia of a fashionable trenchcoat. She had long black hair and wore dark wash skinny jeans that were cuffed at the bottom. She wore expensive boots and designer sunglasses, and finished her look with amethyst jewelry all on her body. She had a smirk on her face as she regarded Thalia, reminding her of the cheerleaders at school who knew that they were better than everyone else.

The other looked like the first appearance-wise, but she wore a more versatile black windbreaker. She wore combat gear underneath and wore black cargo pants with it. She wore combat boots as well, giving her a few inches over the other woman. She rocked a short pixie haircut and reminded Thalia of a rock star. In contrast to the first's more easygoing expression, she had more of a stern scowl plastered on her face. She was also wearing sunglasses, but her glasses looked more athletic than the other pair.

They were Astrape and Bronte, daughters of Zeus and the twin goddesses of lightning and thunder.

Her sisters.

Thalia stood in front of them and smelled ozone rippling through the air. Power emanated from them casually, like one exuding a perfume.

Bronte, the one with the shorter hair, took off her glasses to reveal no pupils. Instead of any form of organic eyes, there was lightning blue energy in their place. It crackled and struck as she spoke.

Her voice was strong and leveled. "Well. The demigods cremated his body. Do you still plan on doing this?"

Astrape's smirk evolved into a smile, but she kept her glasses on. Her teeth were blindingly white and she looked so comfortable with herself that Thalia felt somewhat inadequate. However, she couldn't bring herself to look away from Bronte's eyes for too long. She had hunted and found her sisters after a three-week quest. Once she found them, she asked them to further teach her how to use her Zeus-given powers.

For the task she was thinking about doing, she would need all the power and skills she can get. This was a path that led straight to death for the ill-equipped.

Jason was dead.

Thalia, with difficulty, looked away from Bronte's eyes and in the distance towards Temple Hill. She thought about holding baby Jason in her arms, her anguish when her mother had abandoned him, and her reunion with the only living family (non-godly) she had left on this planet.

She had never felt so sure about something since her sacrifice on Half-Blood Hill.

"Yes. I'm sure."

Astrape's smile widened as Bronte's scowl deepened. The latter put her sunglasses back on. The two of them hopped into the car and opened the backseat door for Thalia to climb in through. With one last look at Camp Jupiter, Thalia thought about the impossible endeavor she was about to embark on.

Lightning split the sky as Thalia turned away from the camp.

She was going to bring Jason Grace back from the dead.

 **One chapter down! Woo! Just so you all know, the story will ideally alternate between Thalia's POV and Percy's POV. This way, you'll get both sides of the story. I hope you liked this chapter and don't forget: you're important, you're amazing, and you're the best!**


	2. Chapter 2

**All rights to Percy Jackson and related characters belong to Rick Riordan and company. I'm just playing around in his sandbox of characters. Thank you so much for taking time to read my story; feel free to give feedback, read at your own leisure, or message me directly with suggestions. You all are amazing. I hope that your day is going great and that you stay hydrated :)**

 **Percy**

 **A few months after the funeral…**

Percy held Riptide up just in time for a sickle to crash down upon it. He recognized the sickle as being composed of adamantine with imperial golden streaks on it that made it look like the blade that a zebra would wield. The weapon's makeup surprised Percy; adamantine was usually a metal only wielded by the gods.

But an adamantine sickle _with_ imperial gold melted _onto_ the weapon? She must have had this custom made by a god or goddess.

Still, Percy didn't waver in his faith in his celestial bronze. The violent meeting of the rare metals created glowing sparks that danced off the blades and careened to the ground.

He regretted wearing black in this weather, though; despite his golden breastplate, he still felt the sunlight start to send ripples of uncomfortable warmth through his body. He felt his legs start to burn from under his navy-blue shorts as well.

Annabeth was right. He should've worn sunscreen.

The sunlight didn't slow down the battle, though. It refracted off both blades, likely blinding anyone trying to view the fight head on from a distance. Percy was grateful for the strong breeze; it kept Percy cool and relaxed enough to still allow his motions to be as fluid as water.

His opponent retracted her blade and tried for three overhand strikes at full strength, as if she was playing _Whack-A-Son of Poseidon._ She was advancing with each strike, trying to force Percy on defense. However, Percy wasn't backing up because he was on defense; he was backing up because he was looking for his next opening and planning the move he will execute.

He wondered if he looked the same way to other twelve-year-old demigods that Luke looked to him; as a cool, smooth older demigod that gave you something to look forward to.

He doubted it. Percy knew he was still the same troubled kid who was picked on at Yancy Academy. Knowing his luck, he'd probably trip sometime in the battle.

Percy parried the last overhead strike and as his opponent moved closer to him, he turned his body ninety degrees and kicked her in the knee, forcing her to stumble. He made sure to hold back his force so as to not seriously injure her, but his next move was at full speed.

He completed a quick, simple disarming technique, ridding her of her sickle. Though weaponless, she looked around at the windblown grass of the Strawberry Fields around her. Like a cat getting ready to pounce, Percy saw her about to spring to get a handful of dirt. He imagined she'd use this to throw in his face, disorienting him.

However, Percy was growing bored of this exchange. His ADHD was seizing on the intense volleyball game across the lake between the Hephaestus and the Hermes cabin, the Pegasi roaming around in the stables, the food he was planning to eat later, and even his mother and baby sister, Estelle.

With a practiced motion, he shifted Riptide so he was carrying the sword in two hands; one hand holding the Riptide's point closest to him and the other holding the start of the hilt closest to his opponent. As if he was putting a plank in to a building, he executed a swift and strong thrust towards his opponent, hitting her square in the forehead with Riptide's hilt.

Kat, his opponent, went down quickly. Her hands reflexively went to her forehead, as if touching it would soothe the pain. She didn't do that too long, though; her face contorted into one of rage and aggression. Her arms went up as if she was summoning the most aggressive hug of all time.

Percy recognized that look on most of the monsters he faced when he had made a smart-ass comment about him.

Clouds began to form over Camp Half-Blood, prompting all the residents of the area to stop and look up ominously. Percy pointed to Kat as a father would admonish his daughter.

"Ah, ah. What did we say?"

Kat glowered. Her arms slowly went down and her face relaxed. The clouds dispelled slowly, encouraging the other campers to gradually resume activities. They did this with confused whispering and hostile pointing.

Percy knew what that felt like. He walked over to her.

"No powers," she grumbled.

He had established that rule so she'd learn how to be a formidable warrior in her own right. He followed Chiron's curriculum where he needed to train her in battle first, and then allow her to figure out how to integrate the use of her godly powers in the field.

Percy had to stifle a smile. She reminded him of Clarisse. Fortunately for the other campers, she didn't try to stick people's heads in toilets. But, both of them were storms of rage and violence, but few people knew that deep in the eye of the storm, in their core, was a surplus of goodness and heroism.

Kat grasped his forearm with a huff and pulled herself up.

Training the daughter of Kymopoleia had its challenges. When Percy heard from Poseidon that he had a niece, he wasn't sure what to make of it. Being a big brother was enough of a challenge, but being an _uncle?_ It made Percy shudder whenever he thought about that word.

When he saw Kat lose her temper the first day he came back to Camp Half-Blood, he definitely was apprehensive of her. Her ability to create devastating storms seemed to come natural to her during a heightened emotional state. After an Ares camper pushed her off her chariot during a race, she had produced a hurricane had raged through Camp Half-Blood's and nearly uprooted Thalia's tree.

Percy picked up Kat's sickle and brought it to her. Her black hair was similar Percy's, but her stormy green eyes showed a cyclone of trauma and negativity. Her eyes scared off Grover the first time he met her, but Percy was one of the few people who consistently stood his ground. Her eyes took him to the sea during one of its raging tantrums, something that needed a force of equal or superior power to stop it.

Or it just needed to rage until it tired itself out.

Kat snatched the sickle out of Percy's hand and quickly extended her arm towards him. She pushed off against him and backflipped so as to create a ten-foot space between them.

"Again!" She yelled this as she held her sickle up with a ferocious intensity.

Percy realized that their sparring session only served to dial her up to eleven, instead of simple exercise/training. He needed her to dial down to about a four.

Behind her, Annabeth was leaning against a column of the arena. She wore an orange and purple custom Camp Half-Blood shirt, with light blue jeans and sneakers. Her blonde hair was so bright against her colorful outfit that from some angles, it looked like a ray of sunshine emanating from the doorway of the arena. It was pulled into a tight ponytail that was slowly being compromised by rogue strands of hair. Her Camp Half-Blood necklace now had so many beads that Percy was barely able to count them without getting a headache.

Though she was talking to Malcolm Pace, her attention was on him. Even from across the Strawberry Fields, Percy became distracted by her gray-eyed gaze. Ever since the fight with Gaea, Annabeth seemed to be keeping a close eye on him as if watching him will keep a god or goddess from snatching him again. Their relationship was still going strong, though they were both shaken by Jason's death.

After Jason's funeral, the news of the death of Zeus' kid spread throughout the world of gods, demigods, and monsters. The idea of death became a real possibility for a lot of people. The number of quests at Camp Half-Blood dwindled from about ten per week to about one per month. People avoided Pegasi, planes, and other methods of air travel lest they became a target of Zeus' grief. Even the atmosphere of Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter was different; people trained out of fear, not exhilaration or ambition.

A few weeks after the funeral, Reyna stepped down from her position as praetor, allowing Hazel to step in and lead alongside Frank. Nico, with his weird relationship with death, didn't grieve much. But, to his credit, he actually exercised an impressive amount of empathy and served as a support system for a few people close to him.

To Percy, Piper had it the worst (besides Jason). She was denied entrance to Jason's funeral at Camp Jupiter by Reyna herself. The former praetor blamed Jason's death on her, saying to Piper's face that he would have still been alive if he had a real partner watching his back.

Both Percy and Annabeth believed she meant to say another word besides "partner."

Annabeth believed that Reyna didn't mean everything she said to Piper; she just needed somewhere to direct her anger towards, and Piper was an easy target.

Percy wasn't so sure. Reyna rarely let her emotions interfere with her work and struck him as one of the few people who grew up with the ability to "switch" her emotions on or off depending on the situation. But if any situation resulted in her letting down her guard, it would probably be this one.

After the funeral, Leo and Calypso had met up with Piper and offered her a spot with them on Festus as they traveled the world. Leo, having grown up on his several adventures, believed that sightseeing and traveling can be as good a catharsis as any. Piper accepted the offer and Percy hadn't seen her since.

Percy didn't know how he felt about Jason's death.

He hadn't thought about it much.

Though Percy and Annabeth took this as a sign to stop the demigod business, Chiron sent them an Iris-Message that asked them to come back to the camp to act as a support system. Percy would never forget what he said to them.

" _In the midst of a leader's death, Camp Half-Blood needs heroes now more than ever."_

After a few long talks, he and Annabeth decided to return to Camp for the summer. Upon arrival, everyone treated them like they were gods disguising as celebrities. People asked for souvenirs from them, advice, and even autographs (from Annabeth, to Percy's annoyance).

However, Percy found his humility in his training with Kat. She treated him as just another person to try to fight through, an attitude that was almost refreshing for him.

At first.

Percy was ripped from his thoughts when Kat screamed and charged him. Taking his life and putting it in her hands, Percy put his hands up and dropped Riptide. His heart pounded as Kat continued to approach with eyes that were glazed over and an expression that could only be described as bestial.

Percy looked at Annabeth, whose hand twitched towards her dagger, but stopped in mid-movement.

When he looked back at Kat, she had stopped charging him and regarded him with the expression of a dog whose owner didn't actually throw the ball during fetch.

"What are you doing?"

Percy raised his arms. "I'm done. You beat me."

Kat sniffed. "No, I didn't. You're way better than me. I need to get as good as you, but I need to get much better."

That was far from the truth. Kat was a skilled fighter that attacked with a brutality that seasoned fighters accumulate over the years. She also had an eidetic memory, allowing her to recreate moves that she's only seen once. Percy didn't think that he would last too much longer against her, anyway, lest she learned all his tricks and rendered them useless.

Percy grinned at her. "You're not as far behind as you think, Kat. I need water, though. Us fish can't live too long without it."

That earned a dry, breathy laugh from Kat, long enough for Percy to walk away from her and towards Annabeth. After a minute or so, he heard Kat yell to him, "Hey, fish! You forgot your sword!"

Percy had to stifle a smile as he heard her shriek and felt Riptide return to his pocket. He approached Annabeth with her calling out to him, "YOU HAVE TO TEACH ME THAT!"

Percy reached Annabeth, who gave him a smirk. "That girl almost got the best of you. You're lucky you quit when you did, _Uncle._ "

Percy stuck his tongue out at Annabeth, prompting an eye-roll from her and a scoff from Malcolm.

"Real mature," he muttered.

Annabeth propelled herself off the column so she was standing up straight. She had her arms crossed like she was a drill sergeant, but Percy had the urge to scoop her up in the breeze and kiss her a thousand times.

"Chiron is in the Big House and wanted a debrief about the morale of the camp. Are you good to head out?"

"Yeah. Let's do it."

Together, the three walked back through the Strawberry Fields, over the lake, and to the Big House. About halfway there, Annabeth took Percy's hands and laced her fingers with his. Percy's heart skipped a beat and, as if she could hear it, Annabeth smiled at him.

The now docile wind playfully rustled the grass and flowers, along with Percy's and Annabeth's hair. As if to play with Percy, the wind changed directions and Annabeth's ponytail slapped Percy in the side of the face. Percy playfully staggered back, earning a flinch from Annabeth. She brought her hands to her mouth.

"Oh, my gods! Are you okay? What happened?"

Percy raised a hand to her weakly. "Good…gods…the power…of the blonde…is too…much."

He playfully collapsed into the lake, making Malcolm laugh and Annabeth cry out. She hustled over to help him out the lake. When she reached out her hand, Percy flashed back to his bathing in the River Styx and how the lifeline to pull him up was the vision of Annabeth pulling him out of the river. She had called him a dummy and told him to take her hand.

That wasn't too far from what was happening now.

He took her hand and pulled himself out the lake, willing himself to dry completely as they walked.

A few minutes later, Percy, Annabeth, and Malcolm were at the Big House. Its sky-blue paint gleamed in the sunlight and the white trim nearly blinded Percy. He always believed that the house brought a homey feel to Camp Half-Blood.

In contrast to Camp Jupiter's more militaristic set-up, Camp Half-Blood seemed more like a residential camp than boot camp.

Hestia would be proud.

Both guys stepped aside to let Annabeth enter first. She led them to the Deck, where Chiron was sitting. He was in his wheelchair form, with a Pinochle set-up that seemed like it was left mid-game. He was wearing a fantastic red sweater, maybe as a throwback to the old color of the Big House. His hair was ragged and longer, like he had just given up shaving it. His usually rich brown hair now had more gray in it. It somehow made him look less like a college professor.

He was staring off into the distance when they approached the table.

Percy wondered if Chiron ever got tired of getting to know demigods just to watch them die.

Annabeth slid into the chair across from him. Percy noticed a microcosm of concern on her face, but it was masked expertly.

"Hey, Chiron! What's going on?"

Chiron looked towards her with a kindly smile. "Annabeth. How are things going?"

Percy looked at the half-played pinochle set and wondered when the last time Chiron played with anyone was. After Dionysus was freed from his imprisonment, Chiron seemed to be pretty lonely these days. A pang of sadness went through Percy's body to see a shadow of his former history teacher, someone who was full of dynamic life and energy.

Annabeth took a breath. "Things are going pretty well, all things considered. There's still an air of loss and a little bit of fear after…well, what happened _happened._ People seem to enjoy having Percy around though. He seems to be a bit of a celebrity. Someone even asked for his autograph."

Percy raised his eyebrows, but was rendered speechless by the smile she shot him.

Chiron gave a small chuckle. "Yes, some around here take great comfort in the presence of some of the heroes of the Seven. It gives them an inspiration, something to strive for."

Malcolm asked, "And how about the others?"

Chiron turned his head a fraction in Malcolm's direction in response to the question. "Some feel scared that these two will be the ones to pass on next."

Percy's stomach dropped and Annabeth looked at him. Her face was impassive, but her eyes were moving very quickly.

Percy understood. He cleared his throat. "So, you're playing pinochle by yourself?"

Annabeth slowly put her head in her hands, and Percy's heart jumped. He had gotten the wrong message from her.

Chiron looked at Percy. "Yes. I've been playing against myself."

Percy's throat dried up. He didn't expect him to actually say yes, especially since pinochle was a multi-player game.

Annabeth picked up a card on the table, capturing Chiron's full attention immediately. Chiron made a move in response, and soon, the two of them were playing against one another. Even though Chiron was very old and very wise, Percy didn't have too much faith that he would win; he's seen Annabeth demolish professional card players using what she calls, "a simple algorithm." Percy didn't know why the bottom half of the word had a different spelling than _rhythm,_ but he digressed.

Maybe Annabeth would let him win. Chiron seemed like he needed a win, something impossible to achieve if one played against himself.

Annabeth continued with the updates. "The Pegasi stables still need to get cleaned out; no one has touched them since…"

Annabeth's words trailed off into meaningless chatter when Percy saw Malcolm's face of confusion. The hair on Percy's arm stood up, accompanied by an anxious pit in his stomach. He slowly turned and saw Annabeth's and Chiron's head turn as well. They all looked out to the deck and saw what Malcolm saw; one drop of rain.

Another drop of rain.

Another.

On the ground of an area with one of the strongest magical borders in the country.

Percy hopped over the deck fence/barrier and looked up to see dark gray storm clouds that sported a greenish tint to it. When he turned back to Annabeth, Malcolm and Chiron, all three of them had directed their attention up.

Annabeth was the first to look straight at him, and they made eye contact immediately. She was sending a message to him, and this time, he knew exactly what she was saying.

 _Kat._

Percy could feel the humidity level double, and then double again, forming beads of sweat on his skin. His adrenaline was spiking in the same way that it did when he knew something life-threatening was going to happen. He turned from the deck to look out to the camp. However, the only thing he saw was the demigods on the volleyball court looking at him.

Percy put his hands up in innocence, muttering, "It's not me."

This atmosphere reminded him of the storm that he and Jason would be able to create together, a storm of such power that it would be nearly impossible to control.

However, Jason wasn't here.

Percy beckoned towards the cabins and screamed, "GET TO THE CABINS, NOW!"

The demigods dropped their equipment and ran towards the lake. Percy frantically swept his eyes across the fields. His attention seized on Kat standing on the other side of the lake. She was mirroring his expression of, _It's not me this time!_

She saw him and put her hands up. "IT'S NOT ME!"

Percy felt his face drop in confusion.

 _Then who was…_

Before he could finish his thought, ozone filled the air and waves of power replaced the peaceful breeze.

Percy turned slowly as his senses drew him towards Half-Blood Hill. Half of him expected the Minotaur to be waiting on top of the hill, ready for a rematch.

 _Danger._

In a flash, the heavens opened.

A glowing blue-white lightning bolt crashed down in the area in front of Thalia's Pine Tree. The bolt was so powerful that Percy and a few of the other demigods around the area were blown back a few feet. Instead of striking and dissipating like most bolts, this electrical flash maintained its composition like a lightning bolt stuck in time. It crackled and moved all around as if it was still falling from the sky, but looked like a beam from the sky.

Three other bolts of similar energy levels struck in points around Thalia's pine so they made a square around the area. In unison, the lightning bolts began to circle around one another to form a column of energy with Thalia's Pine Tree in the center.

The energy was so strong that it reminded Percy of Zeus' master bolt. However, this electricity seemed both familiar and unfamiliar to Percy. Like it was the master bolt's cousin or something.

In another flash of lightning, a being materialized in the middle of the energy column. Percy couldn't see the figure clearly through the now heavy downpour of rain.

He looked across the lake to see the demigods nearly at the cabins.

He saw Kat still standing there, in awe of the power display before her.

He looked at Chiron, who had risen to his full form.

He looked at Annabeth, who had her dagger out and was focused on the spectacle.

Percy uncapped Riptide, ready to face whatever god had a problem with them. However, even as he held Riptide, fear coursed through his body. He found himself praying in his heart that he wouldn't die in this fight.

In the past, he had charged into situations with a recklessness that was usually mistaken for bravery, but he now found his legs and arms to be jelly in the face of this threat.

But he had to fight.

 _For Jason._

He charged forward, and saw the figure take the Golden Fleece off Thalia's Pine Tree. He forced himself to run faster and, with a prayer to Apollo for accuracy, he used his momentum to heave Riptide towards the figure.

He heard Annabeth shriek something that brought him to a stop, "THALIA!"

In that split second, multiple things happened.

Riptide had flown at incredible speeds towards the figure, but bounced off the lightning column like it was a strong forcefield. Lightning arcs danced on the blade as it flew off to the left-hand side.

Percy saw the silhouetted figure turn towards the direction of Annabeth's voice before dissolving into living lightning and flashing back up to the sky, along with the rest of the bolts of energy.

The exit resulted in a wave of electrical energy that brought Percy off his feet and sent him twelve feet back in the air. He tried to land on his feet, but ended up losing his balance and falling for a few more seconds.

He sat up and barely registered the pain and scrapes on his legs.

In the seconds of silence following the heist, Percy was having trouble processing his thoughts. One thought was ringing louder than the others, though.

 _Thalia?_

 **Holy moly! Another chapter down. Sorry if the characters seem a bit out of character, but if it helps out a bit, think of this as a story set in an alternate universe. Thanks for reading this chapter. I'll start to update more as I adjust to this post-graduation life and get more feedback from you all. Have a great rest of the day!**


	3. Chapter 3

**All rights to Percy Jackson and related characters belong to Rick Riordan and company. I'm just playing around in his sandbox of characters. Thank you so much for taking time to read my story; feel free to give feedback, read at your own leisure, or message me directly with suggestions. You all are amazing. I hope that your day is going great and that you stay hydrated :)**

 **P.S.- Long chapter ahead, so buckle in!**

 **Thalia**

Thalia had taken solace in the corner of the cave. This was Astrape and Bronte's base of operations. Though it looked like a regular cave in terms of its shape and structure, the composition of the cave was not mere stone. The cave ceilings and walls were a bluish-black with tiny points of light that glowed vibrantly against the dark backdrop. As someone who looked at the night sky every night during the Hunters' missions, Thalia was sure that the stars were either gateways to or representations of true constellations. When Thalia looked deeper into the cave, she could tell that the star cave was in the shape of a half-dome.

However, as the cave got deeper, the sky became darker and more ominous. The blackness seemed to stretch on for miles deep, creating an effect that a looked more like a vortex to the Nyx's dimension than a regular tunnel.

The view through the mouth of the cave, however, was beautiful. The cave was at the top of an ice mountain that rose so high that it rose past the clouds. As a result, she saw different things depending on where she looked. If she looked down, she saw nothing but wispy gray and white clouds. If she looked straight, she would see gargantuan cloud shapes and if she was lucky, the sun peeking out from behind these shapes.

Over the past few months, whenever she was blessed with that vision, she would be transfixed for hours. It truly gave the area a divine, but simple, energy to it.

Now, though, she wasn't looking at the clouds. She was in the corner close to the mouth of the cave, trying to stop herself from shaking. Her ADHD and anxiety had betrayed her and teamed up with one another, prompting her to alternate between shuffling her feet, adjusting her brown-black leather armor, checking her weapons reserves, and freaking out.

They were so _high._

Not in that way.

Even though she had gotten used to the location, she still never forgave the twin goddesses for how high their base was. Thalia never knew why people needed these extravagantly inconvenient bases. Why didn't people just operate from their houses and if they're ever in trouble of being compromised, have their adversaries track them to the annoying neighbor's house?

Thalia tried to focus on breathing as she switched between activities. She could hear Luke's voice telling her to breathe.

She wasn't even sure why she was thinking about him; it had been a while since she thought about him.

Before she could get caught up in memories, she felt a presence appear before her. Though Thalia didn't want to, the twin lightning goddesses had such similar power signatures she had to look up to see who it was.

When she looked up, she saw Astrape was standing above her. She was wearing a battle suit that reminded Thalia of old-school Amazonian armor. She wore the same designer sunglasses she was wearing at the funeral. Her hair fell confidently and lusciously, like she came from a photoshoot and not battle.

As Astrape gazed upon Thalia, the goddess was trying to contain a smile. Thalia was not containing a smile, she was trying to contain the derision on her face. Though Astrape was a very cheerful person, she was one of the most brutal trainers Thalia has met in her life.

And Thalia has trained with Artemis _and_ Athena.

At least they didn't smile in her face afterwards. Astrape did, though, and that was something Thalia _really_ did not like about her vibe.

Unaware of her thoughts, Astrape sat down and looked at her. "How are you feeling?"

Her voice was airy and breathy and almost had a melodic element to it. Thalia could hardly believe that this was the same woman who would blast her with lightning coming from a hundred directions at once or that she, in general, had dominion over lightning.

A beautiful and destructive force of nature.

Thalia exhaled. "Great. Doing just great."

As soon as the words were out, Thalia didn't even believe herself. She was avoiding eye contact, she had said the statement through gritted teeth, and she was still fidgeting in the corner of this beautiful cave. Astrape hadn't tried to talk to her in the few months that Thalia was there; Bronte was usually the one that Thalia bonded with.

She cautiously looked up to see Astrape looking out the mouth of the cave.

Without looking at Thalia, she asked, "Why are you afraid of the sky?"

Thalia followed her gaze and saw the sun tucked under the clouds like a child snuggling under a blanket of cirriform aerosols. The framing of it made the sun look orange and the clouds had taken a shape that looked like Thalia could bounce from cloud to cloud and reach the sun. Looking at the sight, even Thalia understood why she had asked the question.

It was truly beautiful.

Astrape looked back at her. "Sorry if this is inappropriate. But surely, one of Artemis' handmaidens has proficiency riding and hunting Pegasi and other airborn creatures?"

Thalia smiled and kept her eyes on the sun. She thought back to when she was riding Apollo's sun-car across the sky.

"Yeah. Artemis makes sure that all her Hunters are proficient with and against all weapons and creatures. But just because I _can_ ride and hunt in the air, doesn't mean that I…am _comfortable_ with it."

In her peripheral field of vision, Thalia noticed Astrape tilt her head. "Why? We are Zeus-spawn. The skies should be our homes."

Thalia's smile wavered and slowly dissolved into an expression of discomfort, then into one of resolve. She remembered why she was afraid of heights, but she hadn't talked about it with many people. However, the more she avoided talking about it was the more power she was giving it.

And, the more she avoided Astrape, the more power she was giving her.

That woman didn't need any more power.

Thalia needed to accept what happened and learn talk about it with others.

Thalia took a breath. She felt her body temperature rise, but she knew that there would be no visible indications of it such as sweat or blushing. Artemis' blessing kept her safe from that.

"In my childhood, I was running around and going on adventurers with this kid named Luke. I had run into him when I saw him trying to make a living on the streets. He was incompetent, but I was used to running the game at that point in time, so…I took him in."

Thalia took a second to laugh to herself. Luke had tried to maintain his sense of style while homeless, and she remembered her first impression of him was seeing him wear these very nice clothes that looked to have been worn for a week straight and a trash can as a hat to complete the outfit.

Luke was dead too.

"Took him in…as a son?"

Thalia melted into laughter. Sometimes, she forgot that Astrape has been learning about humanity from the outside for a long time.

"What?! No, no, no, took him in as a partner, as someone to learn from me."

"Oh. Okay, continue. Sorry." Astrape smiled, interlocked her fingers, and put her chin in her hands like a child waiting for story time.

Thalia found herself trying to contain something other than a face of derision.

Thalia continued. "At the time of the incident, it was about 1999. He was 13 and I was 11. There was this one time when Luke had taken me on a hot air balloon ride."

After seeing Astrape's face, Thalia realized she needed to quickly explain.

"It's like taking a very slow ride straight up into the air in a decorative basket. We weren't there for simple recreation; we were trying to track down a monster who we suspected to be running the hot air balloon ride and had killed one of our allies. Luke called them 'wind ghosts,' but I later learned that they were _anemoi thuellai._ "

Astrape made a face. "Aelous' slaves. Go on."

"As we headed up, I had the feeling of extreme exhilaration and excitement. I somehow felt more fulfilled the higher we were going up. I felt like I just wanted to jump off the ride and fly through the air like Wonder Woman….er…an awesome female super-"

Astrape quickly interrupted her. "I know who Wonder Woman is. Trust me. Continue."

The stars plastered on the cave were moving slowly, and Thalia watched the progressive migration as she spoke. "I was so nervous and excited that I was sweating. From head to toe. It was pretty disgusting. Under the pretense of keeping a 'low profile,' Luke came up behind me and, to his credit, put my damp, sweaty hand in his and held it like I had never been held before."

Thalia remembered how his touch had brought her peace and solitude. The silly guy with the trash hat was the person who had become her home.

"He made me feel like I belonged there."

Astrape was fully engrossed in the story, now, no longer smiling but still staring with her mouth agape. As Thalia saw a girl running across the stars in slow motion, she thought about Zoe accusing her of never being able to give up guys to be a Hunter.

Thalia guessed she showed her.

"Anyway, we were up there and people thought that we were the cutest middle school couple they had ever seen. Unfortunately, we drew too much attention to ourselves and the…conductor...of the ride looked at the two of us. She seemed to see that something was off with Luke, but once she looked at me, she exploded out of her skin into something that was…intangible and made of swirling dark winds and clouds. Blood, guts, brain matter, bones, everything flew out. Do you understand what that meant?"

Astrape had now summoned a humongous box of popcorn and was eating it. She completely disregarded Thalia's question, and was just waiting for the rest of the story.

Thalia sighed and continued the story.

"It meant to 11-year-old me…that the wind ghost had taken a human body and had been wearing it this whole time. After she revealed herself, the humans saw something different. The Mist had them perceive that she had pulled a gun on the hot air balloon. In both realities, everyone was screaming and panicking. The wind ghost blasted towards Luke and I, a gust powerful and sharp enough to produce an egregious slice in the wood basket we were all in. People started to fall out at velocities I had never seen before. The balloon started to tilt, and people started to fall."

Astrape had stopped eating, but she had a piece of popcorn in mid-transit to her mouth. It seemed like she was emotionally conflicted because she was staring at Thalia, but not releasing the popcorn from the time stop.

"I thought she was too powerful to stop. I thought the others were beyond saving. So, the only thing that mattered to me was saving Luke. However, I had turned, and…I saw Luke get blasted off the balloon. I don't think I've ever screamed so loud in my life."

Astrape finally finished the poor piece of popcorn stuck in suspended animation. "Did you die?"

Thalia rolled her eyes. "No, I did not die. I'm right here…what in the world? Anyway, I tried to grab Luke before he flew away, but he was too far. The attempt resulted in me falling off the balloon as well. For one half-second in time, I was free-falling from on top of the balloon and was watching everyone fall to their deaths. But I didn't see Luke in that second, and that was the only thing that was prompting me to not accept my death."

"The next second, though, I was grabbed by my wrist by Luke, who had grabbed onto a piece of rope that was attached to the bottom of the balloon basket. We blew through the air in that way for a bit, as the balloon basket careened down through the sky. Being young teenagers at the time, both of us passed out from fear and woke up back where we started; the streets. And everyone else on that ride had died because of me."

Astrape didn't seem surprised or annoyed with any part of the story except for the last part.

She frowned. "What, you got teleported there?"

Thalia nodded. "One of the weirdest experiences of my life. Annabeth told me that it was Zeus saving me, but I don't know. It may have been Hermes running on the wind to save his son. I just know that it wasn't my time yet. And I knew that I needed to stay out of the sky as much as possible. I had already played with Fate enough. I had played the odds, been up there once, and never again."

Astrape nodded.

Thalia looked at the ground.

"And then…I died. Saving my friends. But then, I woke up…with this near me…"

By her left foot, the Golden Fleece of Chrysomallus shined on the floor. Astrape stood up and walked over to examine it closely.

She nodded approvingly. "Though many demigods only referred to this as the Golden Fleece, few people knew who the hide belonged to. It had belonged to Chrysomallus, the ram child of Poseidon and Theophane. It was initially sacrificed by Phrixus. The fleece, however, was coveted for its powerful magical abilities."

Thalia nodded. Artemis had forced all the Hunters to watch several famous hunts of myth, including the original Jason's hunt of the Fleece. Whenever the Hunters would go to sleep, Artemis would enter their dreams and inject a vision of some famous hunt from Greek history, as if they were on the hunt as well.

The strategy reminded Thalia of a college team trying to get better by watching film of previous games and learning what works and what they need to improve upon.

Thalia had to stifle a laugh. Few people knew that Chrysomallus was the son of Poseidon. She figured Percy would like to hear that he went on a quest to save the remnants of his sibling who was sacrificed and skinned.

The same remnants that had brought her back to life.

Every single thing that she did (post-being a tree) was made possible because of this powerful artifact.

Thalia picked up the Fleece and regarded it. It glowed to her touch, resulting in a wave of on-contact luminescence when she moved her hand over it. The power seemed to sweet talk her, and she was transfixed by the sight.

She was interrupted by a soft clap of thunder. Bronte had entered the room.

"Sisters. How did the heist go?"

Thalia almost jumped, but her reflexes and her continued immortality kept her from flinching too badly. Instead, she had to stop herself from drawing her weapons.

She looked at Bronte, who was not wearing sunglasses this time. She was rocking the no-pupil/lightning-for-eyeballs style that everyone was doing these days. Instead of wearing her modern clothes, she wore a gray dress that looked to have moving clouds on it.

Thalia nodded respectfully to her. "The heist was successful. I retrieved the Fleece."

Bronte regarded her for a second too long and Thalia felt power radiating off her. She knew she definitely did not want to make an enemy of Bronte.

Or Astrape, for that matter.

She wasn't sure who was scarier between her and Astrape; the latter just rocked a disturbingly gleeful smile that used to make (still makes) Thalia nervous.

Bronte tilted her head. "And what of the dragon?"

Thalia was drawing a blank. "What dragon?"

Bronte blinked and images of a copper-scaled dragon with yellow eyes flashed through her head.

"Peleus," Thalia whispered.

Immediately following her utterance was a vision of Percy, Annabeth, Chiron, and other campers that she did not recognize trying to nurse a serious wound that was inflicted upon the dragon. There was a large hole that started at the top of Peleus' neck, extended through its body, and out the bottom of its neck. It looked as if someone had taken a drill covered with lava and decided to drill straight into Peleus' neck. Around the holes were singe/burn marks, like Peleus was the victim of a powerful energy attack.

Like a lightning attack.

Thalia took a step back and dropped the Fleece. Her heart climbed in her throat. She had killed Peleus and didn't even know it.

Bronte and Astrape regarded her with looks that seemed…sympathetic? It was hard to tell when one only had electric pits for eyes and the other had sunglasses.

The Goddess of Thunder beckoned towards Thalia with the hint of an impressive look on her face.

"Despite the tragedy, you still retain your immortality. Good. You'll need it for your trip to the Underworld."

Thalia looked down and saw what she had gotten used to seeing for a few years now; perfectly toned and healthy arms that exuded a slight divine glow.

She had killed the protector of _her_ tree.

She didn't deserve this divinity.

Astrape looked at Thalia and smiled. "That _is_ interesting. I thought Artemis doesn't know about your journey?"

Thalia sniffed. Weeks before she had made the final decision to embark on this quest to resurrect Jason, she thought about the consequences she would likely face for such an undertaking. She thought she'd immediately lose her immortality once she decided to do it, and/or she would get immediately struck down by the gods to stop her from transcending the barrier of death. However, she has completed the first step of the plan and has not even had her immortality taken away.

"No. She doesn't. And she'll know when she finds out."

Bronte strode forward and picked up the Fleece that Thalia had dropped. She studied it for a second and nodded. Bronte then put the Fleece against Thalia's leather armor, and closed her eyes. The Golden Fleece instantaneously melted into liquid that dissolved into the leather, replacing the brown parts of her armor. Thalia now had on a black and glowing gold leather armor. Thalia felt rejuvenated physically and even a bit emotionally.

She could do this.

She could bring Jason back.

Astrape raised an eyebrow. "Are you ready?"

Thalia, now filled with confidence, looked up to them and nodded. Her shield was polished, her armor was adjusted enough to fit perfectly, and her weapons were sharpened. She had a small knapsack hanging off her, her quiver of arrows, and her knives hanging on her belt.

Thalia nodded confidently.

Bronte waved her hands and the knapsack got a bit heavier. "For bargaining."

Thalia smiled gratefully. She had never wanted sisters as she was growing up because she always found them to be too fragile. But these women…these goddesses…were the _opposite_ of fragile.

Astrape put her hands up to the cave ceiling with a smile. "Then to DOA Recording Studios, you go."

The cave started to shift and turn and Thalia watched as the constellations swirled around for a few seconds until they were replaced with a different sight. She recognized some of the same constellations, but just in different spots. Bronte put her hand to the ground and a sky-high image of a black building on Valencia Boulevard formed on the ground that Thalia was standing on.

Thalia froze up; she felt like if she moved, she would compromise the integrity of the ground and sky-dive her way to the Underworld much faster than she had expected.

She'd see Jason again.

Astrape jumped up and down and clapped. "Okay. Remember what I taught you about lightning travel. The energy is a chaotic force that is not used to being controlled. Use your will and _control_ the lightning. Bend it to your will. Harness it. You can't be afraid of it."

Thalia's face became stoic. She clenched her jaw as she thought about her brother's body being cremated.

 _Bend to me,_ she thought.

No. This wasn't about Jason's death.

This was about allowing him to live again.

 _Submit,_ she commanded it.

In a sensation that could not be described in words other than warm, quick, and _ahhhhhhh,_ Thalia's essence dissolved into pure energy and she fell through the cave at speeds that she thought may have been breaking the sound barrier. Once she arrived on the ground, a distant clap of thunder rumbled in the distance. Thalia looked up to the sky.

 _Thanks, Bronte._

She looked at the golden letters that were carved in midnight black marble: DOA RECORDING STUDIOS. Though she remembered Percy telling her it was stenciled there years ago, the warning of "NO SOLIC-TORS. NO LOITERING. NO LIVING," sign was now etched into golden cursive onto the glass doors.

It looked like someone got a raise.

 _Go Percy,_ she thought.

She entered the lobby. The carpet and walls were a steely gray, complemented by the black furniture with golden embroidering. Horrific-looking sculptures stood in each corner. Regular background music played in the building, which Thalia thought was strange. Though the background music sounded like something played at stores and other establishments, the people there were off to her.

The entire lobby was full of people. She would usually use the word, "bustling" to describe a business filled with customers, but this was the one crowd that was definitely not "bustling." Everyone just sat in silence or moved in slow-motion. They also seemed to shimmer in an ethereal way, like they were merely mirages.

She hoped her Hunter aura didn't draw attention.

At the podium on the far side of the room was a very tall, classy man with dark brown skin and light hair that was shaved off as if he wanted to try a new haircut and didn't like it in the end. He wore classy sunglasses, reassuring Thalia by reminding her of Bronte and Astrape.

They wouldn't be nervous here.

Would they?

As she got closer to him, she saw an eyebrow raise higher than the sunglasses lens. A black rose was pinned to his jacket, near a name tag that read, _Charon._

This was him.

Thalia summoned all the confidence she could to try to sound demanding and brave. " _ahem…_ Charon!"

Her voice cracked a bit when it came out. Her temperature began to rise again and she found herself praying that she wasn't blushing.

"Mr. Charon," Charon corrected smoothly.

"Right," Thalia said. She tried to brush off her irritation.

"Mr. Charon. I would like to enter the Underworld please."

She prayed that this would work. When she and Percy were getting cheeseburgers years ago, he had told her that he, Annabeth, and Grover were able to enter the Underworld by just stating their intentions.

Apparently, their intentions were _refreshing_ to hear.

Thalia hoped hers were similarly refreshing.

Mr. Charon…Charon, however, raised his eyebrow even higher. "My child, you are the opposite of dead. You're a godling glowing with the light of Artemis and the power of the Chrysomallus' Fleece."

Thalia was mildly impressed. "You know about Chrysomallus?"

Charon's mouth twitched. "Of course I do. All civilized and learned people should know their Ancient Greek culture."

Thalia threw her hands up. "Thank you! That's what I keep telling people."

Charon leaned forward. "Child, you are not dead. Be honest with me, are you an auditor? Here to check my performance?"

Thalia took a breath. "First of all, I'm not a child. Second, Hunters can die in battle. And third…I am here to check your performance."

Charon gave a conceding nod. "First of all, Hunters can die in battle. But when they do arrive here, their divine aura is stripped from them, making them but another soul in this lobby. Their aura does provide them with one last gift; a _golden drachma._ "

The way he said, "golden drachma," almost sounded like he was stopping himself from drooling slightly. Thalia raised an eyebrow and had to stop herself from making a smart comment.

She was an auditor.

However, Charon straightened up and smoothed his suit. "Sorry, _madame._ The drachma allows immediate passage to the Underworld."

Thalia smiled slowly. This was too easy.

"Oh, I know." Thalia took two bookbags out of her magical knapsack. Though it seemed impossible for the small knapsack to hold that, Thalia knew the secret. The knapsack was a collaboration gift from Hephaestus and Artemis, who worked together to make something that had the same powers as a regular purse, but was a bit more battle-convenient.

Thalia put the two bookbags on the counter and set them down with a resounding _clunk._ She unzipped them to reveal them stuffed to the brim with golden drachmas.

Though it seemed to be difficult, Charon tore his eyes from the sight.

"No. I cannot be bought. Leave."

Thalia realized that the auditor thing was starting to backfire.

Thalia sighed. "Look, I'm not an auditor. I'm just a daughter of Zeus."

Charon leaned forward and sniffed her. "You _are_ a godling. Why would you have me embarrass myself in that way?"

"Look, that was your choice, not mine. I thought you did great."

She reached into the knapsack and put two more bookbags' worth of drachmas on the desk.

"But here. Please take these. Give me passage and I will make sure that you get well-compensated with not just these."

Instead of struggling with his greed like Thalia _thought_ would happen, Charon summoned a scythe from mid-air and sliced through all four bags, dissipating them into dark smoke that dissolved into the air.

"NO."

The act had prompted Thalia to flip back and grab her spear. She noticed the people in the lobby watching the encountering and chattering quietly to one another. If Percy was right and these things were souls, she figured this might be the most interesting thing to happen in centuries.

"What do you mean by 'no'? You let a pregnant Psyche come into the Underworld with only one coin, and you let Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Grover Underwood through for multiple. Your cheap ass feeds on those drachmas; you know you can't turn it down."

Charon flipped his scythe so the blunt point was on the ground and the blade was by his face. It was an eight-foot long adamantine blade that had dark tendrils of smoke exuding from the ends of it. She knew she didn't want to get reaped by _that_ thing. The point hit the ground with a _thud_ that reverberated and echoed through the whole area.

"Child. I know what's in your heart. Your intentions are impure."

Thalia's throat became dry. "How do you know anything about anyone else's intentions but your own?"

"I see it," Charon answered coolly. "I serve Hades, girl. I make sure that anyone who _I_ bring into the Underworld is there for a good reason. Most souls that come here are brought to the Underworld because they _belong_ there. The few that do not belong here like Psyche and Perseus Jackson are refused at first. If they persist, I look into their heart. Psyche needed passage so she could earn Eros' heart back. Perseus needed entrance so he could both save his mother and stop an Olympian war from raging. I then check with Persephone, Hades' immortal wife. If she approves it, then I will allow them through and acquire some drachmas off the deal."

Anger bubbled up in Thalia. "And I'm trying to save my brother. How is that not pure?!"

"Your brother is deceased. So, he is beyond saving. He is in the hand of the Fates now, his string has been cut. There's no more string drawn out for him. So, your intentions are to steal from the Underworld, to break the natural law and resurrect someone for personal gain. You would be forcing the hand of the Fates to make new, unexpected string. I shan't allow that."

Thalia faltered. She had not seen it as breaking the natural law, just as common sense.

Why _wouldn't_ someone want to save her brother?

A tear threatened to escape and she felt her eyes burning as if someone had put poison in them.

This couldn't be the end of her journey.

She raised her spear and pointed it towards Charon.

"I need to save him. Please. Don't…don't let me have come this far to get turned down."

Charon took off his glasses to reveal pits of darkness and death, the exact opposite of her half-sisters' vibrant and electric eyes.

"You are convincing. But he is beyond your help."

A tear traced down her cheek. "That's not true."

Charon sighed and gripped the scythe. "I will not ask again. Leave."

Thalia gritted her teeth. She knew the right thing was messy sometimes, but it needs to be done. She felt energy arc through her body and through the spear.

"Fine," she growled. "Then I'll do it without your help."

A large amount of blue-white lightning erupted from the tip of the spear, striking Charon square in the chest. He flew back off his podium and Thalia leapt over the barrier with one somersault. She landed, put one foot on his mid-section and the spear to his neck.

"You will let me into the Underworld. I will grab Jason and you will never see me again."

Charon looked fearless, something that made Thalia itch.

"No," he said simply.

Thalia pressed the spear against his neck. She wasn't sure if she would start to see ichor or blood come out of him. She had heard stories that depicted the ferryman as anything from a long-lived mortal to a divine being, to a minor god.

However, she was starting to see red. Whenever she tried to do the right thing, it seemed like the gods conspired to stop her from doing so.

Not this time, though. Demigods were usually used and abused like chess pieces by the gods. There had to be some time where one of them had a life of their own.

Where someone lived according to _their_ own rules.

Thalia stared at Charon right in his pits. "You're no god. You're just a glorified taxi driver having to beg and grovel for money from an indifferent employer, an _actual_ god. You will just be the latest in a long line of obstacles that have tried to stop me from doing what was right. Don't make me go through you. I've killed worse than you."

Charon sneered, a childlike expression that didn't match his sophistication or his accent. "And I have been _threatened_ by worse, girl. This affront is grounds for me to defend myself, but I have grown tired of this encounter. I want you to listen closely. You are only a child who not finished throwing her vile, disgusting tantrum yet. Death is a part of life and your brother is not the only one close to you that has felt it. He will not be the last one to feel its embrace, either. Just as the brave Charles Beckendorf and the courageous Zoe Nightshade, your brother's death was not in vain, but stood for something."

The mention of Zoe Nightshade took the ground away from Thalia. She felt like she had gotten a bucket of memories and regret washed over her.

Charon continued. "If you succeed in doing this unnatural thing, your death will be meaningless. Your death will not stand for anything. When you die, you will be tortured for all eternity, the victim of a cruel curse that the gods will vote on. And if you succeed and the gods vote on a punishment—"

He smiled at her like a predator about to pounce. "—know that your punishment was suggested by me."

His smile faded back into his annoyed scowl/grimace. "You are hereby banned from DOA Recording Studios. I will alert my co-worker Thanatos to make sure that he does not let you in through the Doors of Death, either, despite his soft spot in his heart for demigod heroes. Goodbye."

An invisible force blew Thalia through the lobby room and crashing into the doors. The force likely would have killed a regular demigod, but Thalia felt nothing but pure anger, raw sadness, and a headache.

In a surprising turn of events, Charon smiled to her and talked to her from across the room. "That was perhaps the most interesting auditor check that I have ever experienced. Send Zeus my best and tell him thank you again for the raise. I'll send you to my co-worker because he has been feeling off since the whole 'Doors of Death' debacle. I would make sure that he is fit to continue serving Hades."

Charon snapped his fingers and the entire room spun sideways both quickly and in slow-motion, and when Thalia regained her footing and her composure, she saw herself in front of an underground temple in a place that she used her abilities to recognize as Epirus, Greece.

Thalia was looking upon the House of Hades.

 **Woo! Another chapter done. I hope you all are doing well and having fun. To my one reviewer who chastised me for spoiling the latest book to come out, thank you! I changed the summary to just saying that Jason died, adding my fanfictions to the league of others that surround a main character dying. To the others who have given me good feedback, thank you for typing out those messages. They put a smile on my face. And those who just drop in, read, and drop out…I am you. Thank you for stopping by and have an amazing weekend!**


	4. Chapter 4

**All rights to Percy Jackson and related characters belong to Rick Riordan and company. I'm just playing around in his sandbox of characters. Thank you so much for taking time to read my story; feel free to give feedback, read at your own leisure, or message me directly with suggestions. You all are amazing. I hope that your day is going great and that you stay hydrated :)**

 **Percy**

Percy leaned against a wall in the corner of the Big House Rec Room and let loose a big yawn. As the yawn subsided, tears of tiredness formed in his eyes. He blinked a few times to clear up his vision.

He was in the far corner of the Rec Room, towards the door and facing towards the Ping-Pong table. Years ago, all the cabin leaders could fit around that one table, with snacks and hot chocolate to spare. Now, after the expansion of the residential cabins, the head counselors nearly took up the entire Rec Room. Demigods were plopped in a sea of folding chairs, packed shoulder to shoulder. Some were talking, others were sleeping, and some were attentively looking towards the front. As Percy swept the room, he saw several familiar faces, including Will Solace, Drew Tanaka, and Sherman Yang.

However, he saw several people that he did not recognize.

It was surreal.

As he noted all the new people in the room, Percy realized something. Camp Half-Blood was going to continue to protect and train demigods for decades and maybe centuries. Even as technology increases and customs change, Camp Half-Blood was still going to be there. It may very well outlive him, Annabeth, and possibly even Chiron. People phase in and people phase out, but the institution of Camp Half-Blood may actually be immortal.

Percy thought that was wild.

Speaking of immortals, this was the first council meeting that he's participated in that was not called by either Chiron or Mr. D. This time, Annabeth was the one who brought them together, resulting in the uncharacteristically early time. She set the meeting time at 5:00 a.m., a time that is only experienced by the brave or the crazy.

Sometimes both.

Not all the cabin leaders had woken up early enough for the council meeting, unfortunately, meaning that there would have to be some people delegated to be messengers of what transpired during the meeting. Percy surmised that the purpose of the get-together was to discuss the theft of the Golden Fleece and possibly delegate a quest.

He hoped it wouldn't come to that.

He had come back to Camp Half-Blood only to serve as a support, _not_ to go on quests and resume his active demigod lifestyle. As he has experienced firsthand, the hero life is a time-bomb. It can be great and exhilarating for a few years, but the reality was that the countdown begins as soon as a demigod is born.

 _Jason reached the end of his countdown,_ Percy thought to himself.

Percy was one of the few demigods to have the opportunity to leave this life behind. He could have gone to college in New Rome, stayed with his mother to help raise Estelle, or traveled the world with Annabeth before settling down into a career.

Yet, here he was.

Percy noted that Mr. D wasn't here to provide the customary snacks such as Cheez Whiz, crackers, and several bottles of red wine (or Diet Coke, for the underage). Instead, it was just a pool of bad attitudes and morning breath.

Percy figured he wasn't much better. He didn't have much time to make his hair or himself look presentable, but he was there at the meeting. Though it was in green and white striped pajama pants and a blue shirt with a pasta sauce stain on it, he was there.

Percy saw Annabeth count the number of people in the room, mouthing the numbers silently to herself. She wore the same things she did yesterday. Her orange and purple shirt now rocked a third color: wrinkles. Her light blue jeans had a few stains on it and her sneakers looked as if she had gone for a jog before the meeting.

She must have had a long night.

Chiron was at the head of the Ping-Pong table while most of the cabin heads from the original twelve cabins gathered around the Ping-Pong table in a horseshoe shape. The original cabin heads' chairs led into the pool of the minor gods' cabin heads seated in the body of the Rec Room. It made Percy wonder how they managed to still maintain some sort of hierarchy among the cabin leaders and made him slightly glad that he was in the back of the room.

Percy saw Sherman with his head down on the table and Pollux dozing off with his head in his hands. He didn't blame them; it was very warm in there.

Annabeth reached around Chiron and retrieved a clipboard that was in front of him. She cleared her throat.

"Miranda."

The head of the Demeter cabin popped her head up from her phone. Her dirty blonde hair whipped back as her head came up. Though they still had sleep in them, her green eyes popped from across the room. She gave a tired smile and gave a sing-song, "Here!"

Annabeth nodded and Percy saw her execute a check-mark motion on the clipboard. "Sherman."

The physically intimidating son of Ares and head counselor of the Ares cabin gave an equally intimidating snore in response. Some of the counselors tried to hold in their snickers while others rolled their eyes.

Annabeth closed her eyes and exhaled. Her blonde hair was frizzier than usual and she had bags under her eyes. Percy felt the urge to pull her aside and ask what was going on. She usually had her stuff together, even in the midst of a stressful time. However, he knew better than to interrupt her when she's in a groove.

"Nyssa."

A muscular woman with rich brown skin gave a weak salute and adjusted the red bandana on her head.

Annabeth continued with roll call for about five minutes until she had run through all the head counselors. About sixty percent of the counselors active within Camp Half-Blood were there this morning, a statistic that didn't seem to satisfy Annabeth.

It definitely surprised Percy.

After roll call, Annabeth took a breath. "I called you all here because of a serious development. The Golden Fleece has been taken."

Everyone was awake now. It was as if the coffee god had just magically injected caffeine into the demigods' veins. Nervous whispers and ripples of discomfort rolled over the crowd.

Kat, seated on the left-hand side of the mass of campers, turned and made eye contact with Percy. Her face looked pleading as if she was asking him to telepathically send her details.

Nyssa cleared her throat as if she was hacking up phlegm. "Yeah. The Fleece was taken in the midst of lightning that struck down on camp grounds."

She looked at the rest of the group as if she had already made her point. However, most people just looked at her slack-jawed.

She sighed. "Okay. Lightning is a form of electrostatic discharge. And so, in order for it to form, there must be a huge amount of electrical potential within the air. What demigods do we know that would be able to form that level of power?"

Percy thought about Annabeth screaming out Thalia's name towards the form, but decided against mentioning anything once he saw Annabeth's face. She was standing with her arms crossed with an expression of genuine discomfort.

Will Solace stood up. "Okay. So, when it comes to lightning, that's usually Zeus' territory. Do we think that it was a demigod, a god, or a monster who took the Fleece?"

Drew from Aphrodite's cabin stood up. Her make-up was done to painstaking perfection, as usual, but she looked uncharacteristically frustrated.

"Are we just going to ignore the fact that our _camp_ remains unguarded?! What if monsters just walk in and tear everything up? Or worse, what if _mortals_ actually walk in and see us riding horses and…and _jousting_? They may take pictures, and it would be _all_ over Instgram!"

Sherman snorted. "Yeah, what if they see Drew getting her butt whipped in armor?"

A few counselors snickered, but were shut up by a look from Annabeth.

Drew exhaled shakily. "We are left unprotected. What will we do?"

Annabeth nodded. "Great question. Will, alert the archers from your cabin to take up posts on top of buildings, trees, wooden posts, and other things of the sort. They will have to be our protection. We need regular arrows, divine arrows, trick arrows, poison arrows, the whole lot. If they see anything making its way to Camp Half-Blood, they either turn them back or turn them into dust."

Will nodded and began to write notes on his notepad. Pollux raised his hand and was met with a nod from Annabeth.

"Sorry if I missed this, but what happened to the Hunters? Aren't they, like, honorary members of this camp? Would they be able to serve as our protection throughout the woods surrounding this camp, and whatever they catch, they get to keep?"

Murmurs of agreement and co-signatures rose from the crowd. Percy looked at Annabeth, who was looking at him. Her throat looked slightly constricted and she started to look pale.

In turn, adrenaline shot through his body. That look on Annabeth's face only meant that she was in trouble. Percy's throat closed up and his heart jumped. His hand twitched towards Riptide instinctively, but he realized that she wasn't in any physical danger.

She was just hiding something from everyone else. And as the presider of this meeting, she needed support from someone.

He cleared his throat. He was going to regret this. "Uh, hey, everyone. I'm Percy, from the Poseidon cabin."

All eyes turned and trained on him at once, like those green toy aliens from Toy Story that always said, " _You have saved our lives. We are eternally grateful."_

He saw Kat turn her entire body around to face him.

"I had a dream about the Hunters," Percy lied. "They're off on a quest for Artemis, something that may take a while. If they do finish up with that, I will send an Iris-Message to one of them to come back here."

The campers turned back towards Annabeth, and for a second, there were no questions or comments. Annabeth gave him the ghost of a grateful smile, then trained her attention back to the group as a whole.

Butch didn't bother to stand up, but spoke anyway. The son of Iris' rainbow tattoo shone in the sunlight peeking through the window.

"We're talking about logistics and not talking about one of the more important things. Someone stole from us. If we don't figure out who it was, they may do it again and may hit us again. Maybe next time, they take or hurt something…or someone…more valuable."

Everyone knew that Butch was the best equestrian around Camp Half-Blood, so they all knew that the safety of the stables was on his mind.

Damien White, the son of Nemesis, responded. "Who knows. It could have been Thalia. Or even Jason Grace."

The entire group shifted in discomfort. Percy sensed several emotions throughout the mass of people, including regret, sadness, and confusion. The emotions prompted a silence that stretched on for a few seconds too long.

Sherman sneered and broke the silence, much to Percy's gratitude. "Jason's dead, idiot."

Will Solace shook his head furiously and started twirling his pen around his fingers nervously. "Death isn't…people can still do things even after death, you know? Death is…death's a weird thing."

Everyone looked at him with concern and he gave a bashful smile. "Heh…you know…my boyfriend's a son of Hades. You know how it is."

Chiara Benvenuti's dark almond eyes flashed quickly. The daughter of Tyche reminded Percy of a panther, with dark hair and intense eyes.

"Well, aren't some more powerful entities able to manipulate weather phenomenon to their bidding? So, what if this is, like, Kronos or something?"

Percy's thoughts began to run to when Thalia was attacked by a lightning bolt and she was manipulated into initially thinking it was Zeus when it was really Kronos. He was interrupted, though, when Chiron cleared his throat.

"Let us not get ahead of ourselves, here. Kronos and most other Titans are out of commission whether by choice or not."

Percy figured Chiron wanted to shut down any rumors about his father as soon as possible. Malcolm stood from around the Ping-Pong table with his hands balled. He looked angry…a bit too angry.

Percy had his eyes on Annabeth as he started to stalk towards the front of the room. Cabin leaders quickly parted to make a path towards the front. Annabeth's eyes flicked to Malcolm and met his gaze with ferocity.

Percy looked at Malcolm. Though it was usually neat, his hair was unusually shaggy and fell in front of his face. He also looked tired, but his eyes looked wild and full of energy. Percy recognized this as someone who had a night full of nightmares.

"I can't take this anymore. You want to tell them the truth, Annabeth? Hm? You've been sitting here this whole time and not saying anything about what you truly know. The fate of the camp is at stake. I was going to keep your secret, but this…this is for everyone. Tell them what you know!"

Percy was ten feet away now. "Hey, man, ease off her. She's had a long couple of days."

Malcolm whipped towards Percy. "No. No, you don't get it, _Percy._ I've seen it. I've seen it in my dreams. I've seen Annabeth talking to her at night."

He turned towards Annabeth. "You know who it was, and yet you're letting all these people talk and speculate and guess and be wrong. Children of Athena are supposed to spread knowledge and wisdom, not manipulation and lies."

Percy put his hands up to try to calm Malcolm down. Percy's eyes, however, crept to Annabeth.

"Annabeth, what is he talking about?"

Annabeth stared at Malcolm not with loathing or anger, but with a tired resignation. She looked at the ground, and then trained her eyes on Percy.

"When Jason died, it was a tough time for everybody."

Percy's heart dropped. He stopped advancing; he was nearly at the Ping-Pong table. Annabeth had kept something important from everybody and seemed to have no plans of telling them anything.

"One of the people I tried to check on was…was Thalia. But, I wasn't able to get a hold of her. It was like she had dropped off the face of the planet. And you all know how…how sensitive that can be for me."

The room murmured agreement. Malcolm sat down slowly, still glowering.

Annabeth looked at him, then back at Percy. "I tried to talk to the Hunters, but over the week after Jason's death, they said that they don't know where Thalia went. They had elected an interim leader for the time being, but they were worried that Thalia was in some serious trouble. So, about two weeks after Jason's death, which would be close to two months ago, I was outside the Athena cabin when I received an Iris-Message from Thalia. When I saw her face and heard her voice, I nearly cried. I'd had bad experiences with losing…close friends."

Annabeth maintained eye contact with Percy and he looked away. He knew he couldn't blame her for hiding this information. If anyone knew what she had been through, it was him. And she had been through a lot. He knew she still had nightmares about his disappearance, and even nightmares about Tartarus.

"And so, I talked to her. She seemed okay, making jokes, being the same big-headed self that she's always been. I was confused, though…because Jason was dead. Thalia goes AWOL and then calls me with nothing but smiles? I asked her what was going on and her smile dropped to a serious expression that I had never seen on her."

The group was dead silent. Even Clovis was fully awake, watching and listening intently. Some campers had their mouths agape and some were grabbing the legs of the folding chairs.

"She told me that she was going to bring Jason back to life."

Percy's heart stopped. A cloud must have moved in front of the sun because the sunlight that was seeping through the window had darkened. Bringing someone back to life was ridiculous, something that was more of a movie plot than an actual plan.

What in Zeus' name was she thinking?

Annabeth took a deep breath. "I had never seen her so determined. I told her, as you all know, that doing that would take a ridiculous amount of power because she would be going against nature, against the gods, and against the Fates themselves. She just said that she already knew, with a disturbingly hungry look on her face."

Percy thought back to when Thalia was petting the Ophiotaurus years ago. He had been unsettled by the hungry look that she had when she was imagining the power that Bessie's death would have given her.

Annabeth continued. "So, I argued with her. I told her that only divine figures are able to resurrect people. Achilles' mother Thetis was divine, Heracles was brought back by Zeus, just to give a few examples. Even though Orpheus was someone who was able to cheat this rule with his beautiful playing, he was eventually killed by Mr. D once the music's spell wore off."

Chiron was sitting with his hands intertwined with one another. Though he was usually a calm person, Percy couldn't shake the feeling that Chiron also knew before the other campers. It reminded Percy of the multiple times the two of them kept important details of the prophecy form him.

"So, Thalia got annoyed and ended the call after I said no."

Annabeth took out her dagger and ran her hand over the blade. "There are…consequences of forcibly bringing someone back from the dead. Everyone dies, yes. And it would be great if you could protect the people you cared about and keep them from death."

A lot of the cabin leaders found the ground to be very interesting. Annabeth looked around before continuing. "But…everyone dies. You can't just reject that reality and bring someone back to life. You could fail and get punished, receive a cursed death, get killed or tortured by the gods, or even have a punishment inflicted upon you by the Fates themselves, and that's something that you never want to do. I've heard stories that they have literally eradicated someone from existence, like taking a piece of a puzzle out a completed picture and replacing it with a new, perfectly-sized one. No one would know the difference."

The room was uneasy. Percy couldn't stop thinking about his mother and Estelle.

What if Hades had actually killed her?

When Percy had gone to the Underworld all those years asgo, a part of him was scared that she was actually dead. So, did he technically do the same thing, trying to bring his mother back to life?

How different was he from Thalia?

As he looked around, he saw people looking into space, at the floor, or at each other. He figured that the campers were thinking about who truly mattered to them and what they would sacrifice to keep them safe.

However, there was one thing stumping Percy. He cleared his throat, resulting in all eyes flicking towards him again, like having a conversation with Argus. "Yeah, Thalia's tough. But she's not tough enough to resist the gods. Why wouldn't she just get struck down, or have her immortality taken away?"

Chiron responded a little too quickly, "The gods can't get involved in demigod affairs that are of a certain echelon. Thalia is not trying to bring down Olympus, she's trying to go on a personal quest of hers. Regarding the immortality, Artemis will exercise her discretion of when to take it away. Thalia hasn't killed anyone yet, nor has she renounced membership of the Hunters. She'll keep her gifts for as long as Artemis sees fit."

Annabeth slammed the dagger on the table, making half the room jump and commanding everyone's attention. "We need to stop her. A small crew of two or three, small enough to not be intimidating. We need people that she knows well to go and talk some sense into her. I've known her for over a decade, so I will be the first. Is there anyone else?"

Even though Annabeth looked at him afterward, Percy was already answering as her head was turning. "I'm in, of course. Is there a third?"

There was silence in the room. The room started to get uncomfortably warm as the cabin leaders avoided eye contact with both Percy and Annabeth. He didn't blame them, though; a lot of them had seen Thalia fight.

Will looked up from his notepad. "What about Grover? Wasn't he close to Thalia too?"

Will was right; Grover was Thalia's protector back in the day. Chiron raised an eyebrow and Annabeth looked at Percy with the ghost of a smile. Percy nodded and Annabeth mirrored the gesture to Will.

"Then I'll pay him a visit. Will, get your campers in those trees. Leaders, shut down any harmful rumors regarding what's going on. Stay within Camp borders and keep your eyes and your ears open. No cabin should have all its members asleep at one time. Sleep in cycles and always have someone on watch duty. No cell-phones at all. With so many demigods in one place, you're basically broadcasting where monsters can have their next meal."

Miranda and Drew looked up quickly and slowly put away their phones.

Annabeth sheathed her knife. "And remember to debrief your cabins about this, but don't mention Thalia by name. I don't need people trying to go on secret quests to capture her. They may not make it back alive."

Chiron clapped his hands once. "I believe that may be enough for today."

The cabin counselors filed out slowly and somberly. Percy didn't hear any smart comments or jokes being made. People seemed genuinely shaken by the news, and Percy didn't blame them. Though Thalia wasn't always an official camper, she did have an air of heroic mystique about her that made people feel a strange sense of safety.

Percy saw Malcolm call Annabeth outside. After a second of hesitation, Annabeth quickly strode out the door with her brother.

Percy moved to leave, but Chiron called his name.

"Percy. Do you mind helping me with these chairs?"

Percy took one look at Chiron's wheelchair and nodded. Together, the two of them stacked the rec room chairs and propped them against the left-side of the wall. As they dragged the last stack to the wall, Chiron coughed.

"Percy…in all seriousness, I am uneasy with you going on this quest."

Percy couldn't believe his ears. This was Thalia in trouble, and he needed to be there. "Oh, no, Chiron. This isn't going to be like the quest to save Annabeth from Luke and Atlas, is it? I need to be there for Thalia. She's saved my behind too many times for me to not at least try to save her from doing something insane."

Chiron raised an eyebrow. "But is it really all that insane?"

Percy scoffed. "Yeah, definitely. She's trying to bring someone back to life. She's going to be real disappointed when she finds out that he can only come back in his corpse form and he's walking around as a living zombie."

What was Chiron trying to get at?

"If your mother had truly died that one night years ago, would you have tried to bring her back?"

That's what Chiron was trying to get at.

Percy straightened up and clenched his jaw. "No."

Chiron made a clucking noise. "But you _did,_ didn't you? You went on the mission to clear up the business with the lightning bolt, but also to bring your mother back."

Percy's mouth was suddenly devoid of saliva. Chiron wheeled himself closer to Percy and looked up at him. "I once told you that you and Thalia are very much alike and the only difference between you two is that she is more sure of herself than you are. Do you remember?"

Percy nodded. He remembered him not knowing whether to take that as a compliment or an insult. Percy knew which one it was now.

Chiron continued. "Because you two are so similar, I am scared that if Thalia is able to convince you to listen to her reasoning, your fatal flaw may be exploited. You may succumb and sacrifice the world, your fate, and everything else to save Jason. But you must remember: Jason is dead. Do not let _anything_ convince you otherwise. Do not succumb. If you do…you may become one of the examples of why the term 'fatal flaw' has earned its name."

Percy looked at Chiron's eyes, windows to his infinitely wise soul. He thought about journeying to the Underworld for his mother, fighting through Tartarus with Annabeth, giving Luke the knife, and drinking poison. His entire life has been defined by taking chances for the people he loved. Percy didn't think that he was going to stop today.

He opened his mouth to deliver a witty retort, but decided to close it. Chiron broke eye contact and his eyes fell to the ground like a leaf in fall. Percy stepped past the centuaur and walked outside to meet Annabeth.

 **Whew! Another long chapter out the way, thank the gods! Sorry for the late update, I had to go through a long graduation week and it's finally over! I'd probably expect some much more regular updates taking place.**

 **00Leaf, thank you for the kind words! Hope you enjoy this.**

 **MafiaMarshMello, thank you for the kind words as well! I will try to update regularly.**

 **Thank you for everyone who took time to read the story. You all are awesome!**


	5. Chapter 5

**All rights to Percy Jackson and related characters belong to Rick Riordan and company. I'm just playing around in his sandbox of characters. Thank you so much for taking time to read my story; feel free to give feedback, read at your own leisure, or message me directly with suggestions. You all are amazing. I hope that your day is going great and that you stay hydrated :)**

 **Note: Spoilers for** **The Burning Maze** **by Rick Riordan in the below chapter!**

 **Thalia**

Thalia stood up slowly, trying to dispel her vertigo. She turned her neck to examine her back; that was a brutal hit she had taken in the DOA Recording Studios. Even in her dizziness, she could see the glint of and feel the pain of the many glass shards that were impaled in her armor. Though it probably would have worried a regular mortal, Thalia has healed from enough gruesome injuries as a Hunter to raise the bar for what she found worrying.

She has met some tough doors in her life, but the DOA Recording Studios' doors were among some of the strongest. As she started to grumble about removing the glass, her armor seemed to react to her wishes. Before her eyes, the glass shards were slowly pushed out by what looked like golden energy and fell to the ground one after the other like the world's most painful raindrops. As the glass pieces fell out her back, soreness rippled through her muscles and her tendons.

Immediately concerned, Thalia stretched her arm to massage her back. She felt the soreness reach towards her fingertips and she started to rub deeply to release the tension.

She was worried now; she never felt sore.

The Hunters' immortality allowed the girls to feel pain and get injured. However, they would get quickly healed by Artemis' magic flowing through them and would experience no residual effects afterwards. Soreness, headaches, sore throats, and other sensations of the sort were things of the past. Artemis needed her Hunters at full health and peak reaction time if they were to properly serve her. Even for serious injuries, the Hunters would be fine as long as they removed the stimulus of the pain and drank some moon water to help reinvigorate their senses and clear their thoughts. Moon water was like ambrosia for Hunters and was usually reserved for the group.

This soreness was cause for concern.

Thalia held up her hands. The palm of her hands were wrapped in black combat tape-gauze that helped with handling of weapons and prevented her palms from chafing against weapon handles. However, Thalia saw that her silver aura that shined around her for years was different.

It was dimmer.

Thalia's heart began to beat hard against her chest and she focused on her breathing. Was she losing her immortality? Was she dying? Was she going to fail in her quest to bring Jason back?

She manually slowed her heartbeat to a regular rhythm and focused on maintaining that cadence for a few seconds. She was _not_ going to freak out by herself in the underground. She always prided herself in not buying into the trope of weak femininity. That feeling was reflected in her music tastes, fashion choices, movie favorites, and all her _Death to Barbie_ merchandise. She was always tougher than most girls and even most boys.

It was time to be tough.

Fortunately, the vertigo began to clear up, so she could stand up straight and look around properly. Her internal senses were screaming that she was in the House of Hades. Her eyes, however, were telling her that she was in a cavern, somewhere that her internal senses immediately told her was underground.

The walls looked to be made of complete obsidian. Embedded in the walls were beautiful, glowing gems that Thalia recognized as jewels from the Underworld. Those rocks were usually cursed; Thalia knew to stay away from them. As if their reputation wasn't deterring enough, there was explicit artwork carved around the gems, depictions of several different scenes of death. The scenes came from all different time periods and empires. She recognized gas chambers, plague victims, slave rebellions, and casualties at war. The ceiling was peppered with several stelas, markers with Ancient Greek inscriptions that usually mean one phrase or concept. In her disorientation, Thalia could only make out a few of them; _soul, eternity,_ and _love._ In the very middle of the ceiling, there was a large stone glimmering. The stone was…black, but not the normal black.

Borrowing from SpongeBob SquarePants a bit, the stone seemed to be _advanced blackness._ She remembered that Jason used to call her Sandy because that was the character that she reminded him of the most.

She was proud of that.

Instantly, the hairs on her arm stood up and goosebumps popped up on her neck. She put her hand to her spear and gripped it tightly as she whipped around the room. Though it was empty, she had the feeling that someone was watching her.

Maybe it was just her nerves.

She thought about how terrified Grover used to be of the underground. She knew about him panicking when he ventured into the Labyrinth with Tyson. Over the past few years, though, she's heard stories about how brave Grover has become. He came a long way, and she was proud of him.

He was the best protector she'd ever had.

Grover had been one of the few males that Thalia met and saw genuine goodness in. He was bashful, he stammered over his words, and he messed up quite a bit. But he had ambition and an authentic care for the Wild, something that somehow made him the right satyr to finally find Pan. He did what he could to protect her and here she was. Alive.

She'd give her life so Jason could live again, though.

She continued to focus on her surroundings, and in front of her was a sleek altar. The altar seemed to be made of ancient stone. The stone looked to be mostly black with a hint of red in it. Draped over the ancient stone was a dark green cloth. The cloth was decorated with bones that seemed to be strong and healthy, not old and brittle.

The bones were fresh.

There were Ancient Greek inscriptions on the side of the cloth that was draped over the side Thalia was looking at. The inscriptions had a faint white glow to them. She leaned forward and read slowly out loud. Translating Ancient Greek was always easier for her when she said it out loud.

"Glory to Hades, the God of the Underworld and the King of the Dead. Turn away and avoid a fate worse than death _._ "

Not fully out of her talking-out-loud mode, Thalia looked around the cavern and spoke to herself in a whisper. "A fate worse than death?"

Her eyes froze on what was behind the altar. Though it initially seemed to be nothing, the air behind the pedestal shook and shimmered like the heat from someone's barbecue. Thalia focused harder and tried to dispel all thoughts from her mind. She knew how strong the Mist could be, as well as magical shrouds of reality imposed by powerful deities.

As she focused, the air shimmered and dissolved to reveal a set of elevator doors, large enough for a hundred-foot-tall giant to walk through. The panels mostly black, with silver and iron ingrained into it. Multiple rows of chains ran down the doors, connected to some of the largest hooks that Thalia has ever seen. Dark energy and power emanated from them, sending alternating whispers and screams of death and pain.

She knew what was behind that door, and what the quote was talking about.

Tartarus.

As if the creatures behind that door could her talking about the realm, she heard screeches and roars in her mind.

Thalia knew about Percy and Annabeth's adventure through Tartarus and how the nightmares lasted for months. She knew about the monsters. She knew about the curses. She knew about the Titans and she knew about the poisons. She knew all this because she had to drag it out of Percy one day at a cheeseburger joint.

He kept telling her that the establishment wasn't the right place to talk about it, but he shut up when Thalia had snapped her fingers and manipulated the Mist. She told him that no one was going to hear what he said, and that there was never going to be a good time to talk about literally going through hell and back.

After some guilt-tripping and some more convincing, he finally broke. Percy told her about all the horrors of that place. His genuine emotions came pouring out when he was speaking about being in there.

She had never seen him so vulnerable.

The son of Poseidon used to be good friends with her a few years ago, but once she joined the Hunters, they grew apart to be like those friends who were close in high school but went to different colleges. Though those friends grew apart, there was no animosity and there was always a lot to catch each other up on.

As a son of one of the Big Three, Percy was pretty powerful. He was even a pretty good swordsman (not _that_ good). His biggest strength, though, was his authentic desire to save people and to do the right thing. His power, his skills, and his heart combined has resulted in moments with him that Thalia will never forget.

The first was seeing his slack-jawed face over her when she woke up from a multi-year nap as a tree. His eyes bore into hers with initial confusion, and then recognition. She would never forget the genuine kindness in his eyes.

The second was after their confrontation after the Capture-the-Flag game (she was still right, she was at the other team's base). She would never forget the sight of the creek rising behind Percy and taking form of swirling, ice-cold death. It was at that moment that Thalia realized that Percy was just as much of a threat as she was, and he had a temper as well.

The third happened was when she watched tears crawl down his face as he talked about his experience in that gods-forsaken pit. She had listened as he spoke about his fears of losing Annabeth, of being trapped in there, and his battle with hopelessness. She would never forget him showing her such vulnerability so soon after what happened.

When he was done, Thalia didn't know if she could have made it through what he and Annabeth made it through.

They had each other.

She was by herself.

She was a good fighter, but from what she gleaned, fighting was only one component of it. The main factors one needed to make it through was courage, strength, motivation, and creativity.

And hope.

Hearing him talk about those issues had convinced Thalia that she could never give up hope. Hope was what kept people alive and what got people out of bed in the morning.

And she needed to have hope in this, as well. This hope wasn't just for her, it was for her brother.

She sighed. "Fuck it."

She took out her spear and charged it with lightning. She felt the energy course through her heart, flow down her right arm, and charge the weapon. As if reading her mind and her intentions, the voices and screeches got louder and started to encourage her to come closer to the Doors.

As soon as she took a step towards the altar and the Doors, the entire room got darker and a black cloud formed behind the altar. The cloud swirled and pulsed with golden energy for a half-second, and then disappeared. In its stead, though, was an angel.

Or, at least he looked like an angel. He had a muscular frame like that of a wide receiver, and looked to be about seven feet tall. He had a sharp, angular face that looked like it belonged on a throne. His skin was a very smooth dark brown that looked like it was containing endless power. His black hair fell down his shoulders and to the center of his back. He had large wings protruding from his back, dark wings that glistened with blue and purple hues. He wore a black robe that reminded her of the Grim Reaper. She figured that there were probably two slits in the robe that allowed for his wings to hang at full size.

He regarded her calmly. His eyes were the same golden as the energy in the cloud-portal thing. Peaceful power (something she thought was an oxymoron) flowed from him and into her. Thalia got the feeling that he has been alive for longer than anyone she's ever met, even the Goddess of the Hunt herself.

He bowed slightly. "Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus."

His voice was like a strong tremor, a soft utterance that somehow shook her core. She usually got annoyed when people used her last name because it reminded her of her mother. Last names serve to connect people to their bloodlines, and she thought that the surname "Grace" prompted people to see her as an extension of her mother.

And she damn sure didn't want that.

Thalia thought about what Charon had said to her before he teleported her here. She then looked up at the angel for a second, got lost in his beautiful eyes for more than a second, and then re-focused herself.

"You're Thanatos?"

The angel nodded once without blinking. "The protector of these doors and a servant of Death."

Thalia nodded. Of course she had to get through Death itself to get to her brother.

She sniffed and looked him up and down. He seemed to be someone who was always ready for a fight, and she didn't notice any weak spots. She did, however, think to Annabeth's story about Thanatos losing a wrestling match to Thalia's half-brother Heracles a long time ago.

If he could beat him, she could.

"All right, Thanatos. I don't want to start any trouble. I just need to get through; I need to save a life."

Thanatos raised an eyebrow. "A life?"

Thalia nodded. "Yes. The life of my brother, Jason Grace."

Thanatos continued to stare. "I cannot."

Thalia's heart shrunk one size. "Please. Don't make this harder than it needs to be. I just need to get through. He was killed unjustly and I need to save him, just as many heroes saved you."

She hoped to play to the soft spot that Charon said Thanatos had; a soft spot for heroes. Instead, he just stood in front of her.

"I cannot. It is against the divine rules," he chided.

Thalia's grip on her spear tightened a bit. She knew she was a bit impulsive, but Thanatos seemed to be a very relaxed and peaceful deity.

Those types of beings tended to vaporize demigods the quickest.

Thalia cleared her throat. "What if…I did a favor for you?"

Thanatos shook his head. "I cannot."

"Can you say something other than 'I cannot'?"

"I can."

Thalia sighed. "All right, man. How would you advise me to get Jason back? If I could get an audience with Hades or Persephone, or if I could somehow get on Charon's ferry, I would be able to take it from there."

Thanatos folded his arms. "Do you know what is behind those Doors?"

The voices intensified in her mind. "Yeah. Tartarus."

He cocked his head a bit. "And you still want to go through Tartarus and somehow claw your way into the Underworld."

Resolve reverberated through her veins. "Yes."

"And then what?"

"And then I save my goddamn brother."

Thanatos nodded like he was slightly impressed. "Your heart is in the right place, daughter of Zeus."

Thalia was left speechless for a second. She hadn't expected it to be that easy. "Right?! Charon told me that I had impure intentions. How ridiculous is that?"

Thanatos nodded. "Your intentions are definitely impure."

Thalia felt like she had been slapped. "Wait, what?"

Thanatos spoke and kept his eyes on her. "Just because your heart is in the right place and you are doing the thing you believe is right, doesn't mean that what you intend to do is entirely pure."

"I think you and I have different definitions of what 'intention' means," Thalia grumbled.

Thanatos gave a very small half smile, accompanied with a very slight bow. Thalia felt exasperated; she didn't want to go all around the world getting rejected by all the death gods.

"So, what now? What do you want me to do?"

Thanatos' brow furrowed a bit in slight confusion. "Turn around and leave."

He didn't understand what she was going through. Thalia knew that people who were thousands of years old tended to have different views on mortality and relationships, and Thanatos was no exception. This was not something that she could just give up.

Thalia sighed. "You know I can't do that."

Thanatos used a head nod to beckon towards Thalia. "Your immortality is waning. Artemis is disapproving of your actions, but is allowing you time to change your course. Your team is looking for you and is operating without a leader. They mourn for a death that has occurred yet. Go back to your home, Thalia Grace."

The name _Grace_ sent a shiver up her spine, stiffening her posture. She was starting to lose hope. How many ways to the Underworld were there in the first place? This could be her last chance.

She needed to keep hope.

For Jason.

Thalia grabbed the spear with two hands. "Please don't make me do this."

Thanatos' eyes trailed to the point of her spear. "You do not want to do that."

Thalia took a breath. She was nervous; something she hadn't been in a while. "I don't suppose you'd be up for a wrestling match, would you?"

Thanatos held a smirk back. "No, I do not suppose I would be. Your brother annihilated me ages ago and I would like to preserve my dignity."

Thalia smiled. She wasn't going to enjoy this.

As quickly as she could, she launched her spear towards his chest. As soon as the spear left her hand, she grabbed an arrow out of her quiver and used woodland magic to materialize her bow in her hand.

As expected, Thanatos was ready for the spear throw. In a show of deathly quick reflexes, he moved the bulk of his body out the way of its path and caught the weapon before it could hit the Doors.

However, Thalia was already launching two arrows towards him. Immortals' reflexes were on another level, so she knew she had to lead multiple attacks against the death god at once to possibly catch him on one of them.

Thanatos surprised Thalia though. His eyes were following her movements the entire time; he had caught the spear without looking at it. This allowed him to see both arrows coming at him. In a fraction of a second, he waved his free hand and the arrows dissolved into dust. He tossed her spear back to her in an airy underhand throw.

It was with perfect aim, and she caught it with one hand.

Thanatos regarded her once more. "I understand your sadness, hero. A praetor of Camp Jupiter risked his life to free me from chains of ice so I could restore Death to the world I imagine that I will forever be sympathetic to heroic missions. However, I have a job to do and I will do that to the best of my ability."

Thalia gripped her bow tighter. She began analyzing his posture and body language, trying to see if she could somehow get past those ridiculous reflexes of his. She needed to get to Jason.

She needed to.

She notched another trio of arrows and pointed it towards Thanatos. Instead of reacting violently, he calmly put his hands up and kept his eyes on Thalia.

"I cannot let you through. The Doors of Death must stay closed and prevent what is in there from coming to this plane of reality. To do that, I must also prevent what is out here from coming into that plane of reality."

Anger surged through her. From behind her notched bow and arrow, she moved her face so she could see him. "You need to move. Now. I don't have time for this godly wisdom/duty stuff. Tell Hades that I tied you up with ice chains or something."

Thanatos kept his hands up and his face down a bit. "Out of respect for your allies who freed me, I will not retaliate. But I cannot let you through. I will however, give you any information that you desire to properly process Jason's death."

Thalia was about to spit bitter refusals at him until she hesitated.

 _What if he could tell her another way to get to Jason?_

Thalia kept her bow and arrow notched. "Swear it on the River Styx. You'll tell me everything I need to know."

Thanatos nodded. "I swear it."

Even from underground, Thalia felt the presence of thunder in the distance, and she knew that wasn't Bronte. The air in the underground began to ripple with power, making Thalia itch.

"Okay. The first question. How do I get my brother back?"

Thanatos sighed. "This is not what I meant—"

"HOW…do I get my brother back," Thalia repeated through gritted teeth.

The god stared at her for a few seconds. "There is another way. You can go to the Doors of Orpheus located in the United States of America. If you have music of a high quality, you may be able to open those doors and slip into the Underworld unnoticed. However, I must caution you against –"

"Thanks," Thalia interrupted. She put her bow and arrow down, and used magic to dissolve the bow. She then used her hands to put the arrows back in her quiver.

"I don't mean to be rude, but there's only one thing I care about."

Thalia turned on her heels and began to walk away until another question popped into her head; a question she had been thinking about ever since she had heard about her brother's death.

Without fully turning to Thanatos, she asked, "Who killed my brother?"

Thanatos hesitated for a second, then admitted, "Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus."

Thalia's breath caught in her throat, and she turned fully away from the death god. She was glad she was shrouded in darkness and he couldn't see her face of surprise. Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus, nicknamed Caligula, was a brutal Roman emperor. Thalia had heard stories about his brutality; he would force mothers to watch their sons' executions and would dream up excessively gruesome ways for his rivals to die.

And he would execute them.

Thalia was disgusted that a part of her admired that. She had a goal that she needed to execute. But Caligula was just disgusting, and Thalia chastised herself for comparing herself to him.

Thalia fully turned to Thanatos. "Wait, he's still alive? I thought he was one of those ancient Roman emperors?"

Thanatos nodded. "He has made a name for himself among the Roman emperors. But he has achieved divinity through instituting worship among his populace and involving himself with other immortals to hatch plots to increase their power and prolong their lives."

Thalia noticed a hint of disdain in his voice. "What, you don't like him?"

Thanatos looked to the altar, and the inscriptions seemed to glow brighter. "He is another who has escaped death through dishonest means."

"Mm." Thalia eyed the inscriptions, in case they started to read _Kill the punk girl!_

Thanatos looked up at her. "Out of respect for your brother, his comrades, and Artemis herself, I will create a portal for you to go wherever you would like to go. The exception is that I will not provide any transportation to the Doors of Orpheus, should you choose to go there."

A plan swirled in Thalia's mind. "Deal."

Thanatos looked taken aback, like he didn't expect that to go as quickly and easily as it did. "Where…where would you like to go, then?"

Thalia bore into his golden eyes. "Home. Take me to the Hunters' camp."

Thanatos somehow looked even more surprised, but nodded respectfully. A black cloud with golden energy formed about five feet behind her and Thalia walked towards it. Images and methods of how she could torture and hurt Caligula flashed through her mind as she headed out of the House of Hades.

"Thalia." Even though his voice was soft, it still cut through the air and stopped Thalia in her tracks. Her back was still to Thanatos.

"By telling you his name, have I just sentenced a man to death?"

Thalia turned her shoulders so she regarded him for a second, and clenched her jaw.

"Yes."

Thanatos slowly hung his head as Thalia stepped through the portal with both her original goal and a new one.

She was going to bring Jason back.

And she was going to execute Caligula.


End file.
